i will be back at 5:00 eastern and we will have a special report on the crisis that is unfolding in ukraine. stand by. expected here shortly from the secretary of state, john kerry. in the meantime, newsroom with brianna keilar starts now. >> i'm brianna keilar with baldwin. we just learned that secretary of state john kerry will speak assignment this hour. this is after the meeting with the russian foreign minster. when he starts, we will bring you that live. united nations envoy agreed to lead the region after being threatened by a group of armed men who wanted him in a car. this as a solution to deescalate the growing tension may be

happening right now in paris where john kerry just met with russian foreign minster and defense secretary said he is beefing up a training mission and adding an air patrol mission. lawmakers are going tit for tat. that would confiscate assets if they slap sanctions on russia. they could vote on a non-binding sanction resolution. for now the west is more focused on economic aid to the ukraine. promising $15 billion in trade and economic and technical assistance. the u.s. and britain agreed in principal to deploy international observers to ukraine. the idea is to ease concerns after president putin indicated he was worried about those in

ukraine. an excuse very few in washington are buying. >> we don't accept anything that president putin said as fact about why they had to protect the so-called ethnic minority in crimea. the other reasons that the russians have laid out as to why they took the action they did. >> joining me now foreign affairs reporter from paris is traveling with secretary kerry and as well joined by the chief national security correspondent. to you first. we know that kerry has spoken to russia's foreign minster. do we have any details about that meeting today? what has come out of it? >> he met with the minster three times, 50 with a group of others from chance, britain, germany,

then later he huddled with the foreign minster and then they just wrapped up about a one-hour meeting in annest to get diplomatic track going. they wanted to sit down from britain, france and germany and try to get the process going and get the monitors on the ground. we are told that secretary kerry is in the french foreign ministry meeting with others. the ukrainian minster in the building while these try to get something going. nothing yet, but it could be a long night. >> elise u talk to us about these two men. is it normally pretty productive? >> in some ways it is and some ways it isn't. they have a good relationship and they are able to sit down

and talk. kerry is able to get diplomatic action going and you saw what happened with the agreement with chemical weapons and russia was really on board after secretary kerry made comments about syria getting the chemical weapons. at the same time a lot of people think that the minster praised him in a way and gets process going. russia is not very productive. the concern here is how does secretary kerry make sure that the russian foreign minster sits down, but also to be productive and not just have talks for the sake of talk, but see if they can deescalate the situation so that russia can pull the troops back. at the same time is that the international community can address the russian concerns particularly on a crimean peninsula. >> what's going on behind closed doors. so much of this happens outside of this spotlight.

what's happening? >> you have the application of hard and soft power. we will get the ukrainian foreign minster, but the first face-to-face contact between the u.s. and russia. that's important. you need to find the off-ramp and find a way out for both sides. meanwhile applying pressure. economic and military pressure. secretary hagel announcing as you noted the deployment of more aircraft to the baltic states and extending this day of aircraft and aircraft wing in poland to the west. we have this scheduled visit by a u.s. destroyer to the black sea coming up as well as the economic pressure. the senate will vote on the resolution tomorrow and a comprehensive one would impose sanctions on russian individuals and russian banks and companies.

that's where you hit the soft spot. that's where they lose a lot of money. the other thing is you have this eu offering and this package of aid. you may remember that early on in the crisis, russia offered the ukraine $15 billion in aid. i was surprised it wasn't 15.5 billion or $16 billion to one up them a little bit. that's an intentional figure and intended to be another offer of support. >> so much we are living by the next thing that president obama or secretary kerry said. do we have any idea what secretary kerry may say? >> we don't. it depends on what comes out of that meeting. i wouldn't give the highest expectations for it. i don't imagine that they in these meetings will come to the conclusion on what this off-ramp will be. they might have discussed it. kerry gave proposals and you get

a russian reaction, but it doesn't look like they are at the stage unless we are surprised that they will resolve this. i want to listen to the sign that there is at least life in a diplomatic solution and soon. the other point i would make it this. while they are talking in paris, there a lot of angry people and armed men on the ground. you saw that flair up today with the un envoy getting forced out at gunpoint. yesterday we saw a ukrainian and russian troop face off and warning shots fired in the air. it's a volatile mix of forces. the diplomats can't solve the problem and someone gets hurt. >> room for error and it can escalate. thank you and thanks as well to elise traveling with secretary kerry in paris. again, secretary kerry is scheduled to speak soon. we will bring you his remarks live once he begins. we are also waiting for president obama. he is set to speak in

connecticut in about 20 minutes and rallying support for raising the minimum wage and could also make remarks on the situation in ukraine. we are watching his event there in new britain, connecticut. he has not yet been introduced. we will follow his remarks and we will certainly bring them to you as he starts to address the crowd there on the minimum wage. he frequently will talk about the news of the day at the top of an event like this that is unrelated. you heard jim talk about the un envoy sent to crimea. that was threatened and not kidnapped. he is now safe and preparing to leave ukraine. several armed men threatened special envoy robert sari. they blocked him at a coffee shop. break this down for us. what happened and what kind of threat was this? how did he escape the coffee shop?

>> we heard jim saying someone will get hurt. this un envoy has his diplomatic mission cut short in crimea. it just arrived. he visited a naval base and was leaving when armed men, 10 to 15 in number, not everyone with weapons surrounded him and demanded he leave crimea immediately and go to the airport. he got into the car he came with and refused to get out and the men blocked the car. they then were threatening him. he was described as shaken and not physically hurt. he walk and sought refuge. the late news is that the united nations is saying they are taking a late flight out and will return shortly to kiev to continue his mission. cut short by today's incident, the words of the united nation spokesman office here in new

york. secretary general young had described to the press corps what was happening with him. he did not have un security with him. they said they were relying on ukrainians for security. they are not sure if anybody was with him. he was accompanied with a european security official, but he went alone to the naval base. this does not bode well for un observers or monitors to be on the ground unless everybody signed off. brianna? >> who were the armed men? do we know? >> the un was asked that. no languages could be discerned. no markings and some men in military fatigues. it's not clear. the thugs assigned by higher ups. we have seen un monitors on the ground and other crisis when they go in early such as syria who are shot at and threatened.

sari going to the relative calm of kiev. back to you. >> thank you so much, richard. appreciate your report. new threats from russia focus on hitting the u.s. in the pocket book. russian state media is threatening to seize assets if sanctions are slapped on moscow. lawmakers are drafting a law to allow russia to confiscate assets held by u.s. and eastern eastern countries. they are considering and they quickly withdraw from forces of ukraine. president obama accused president putin of violating international law. the next guest said putin could care less about violating international law. i want to bring in karen and the professor of political science and law. karen, thanks so much for being with us.

we wanted to talk to you about this opinion piece you have on cnn.com. international law may not really help people in ukraine much. why is that? >> well, let me qualify. i think it's helping by keeping the situation from escalating further. there no tools that they can fall upon. that's not going to be effective. right now what they can do is invoke international law and use it to deter threats of force and try to deter. >> and karen, you actually compared the stand your ground law in some states that have come to the infamous brought out by the trayvon martin murder and george zimmerman trial. you compared that to russia's claim of responsibility to

protect against ethnic violence. explain that comparison. break that down for us. >> it's more the invocation of self defense. everybody said they are acting on self defense. russia has been suggesting that maybe it is in the crimean order to protect ethnic russians in the region. of course people on the kbroupd a ground are saying there is no threat. i should stress that even if there was a threat to russians, that is not a basis under which putin can move in. so it's more the invocation and right now it's in a court of public opinion. they are saying hey, we and our allies will try to address your concerns and it seems essentially trying to call putin's bluff on his cushions of how he is concerned for russians

in crimea. when you are talking about him inventing a legal premises as you see it to justify these actions, have we seen other places or other examples approximate examples of this? >> we have seen it, but what is interesting is how the tune changed. he didn't bother to say international law was an aside. when they violated international law, he started to invent the idea that he was asked to go in and by the legitimate government by the deposed president and had him make a speech where he was asked to go in. this has been done in the past in the cold war. our own administration did it. they said el salvador would ask us to go in. it didn't look credible. it was used in the past and it's harder to harder to use these

and get away with them. the expectations for international law changed. >> you think they increased the expectations? >> i think we expect legitimate governments to follow the rule of law. in the past you might have seen law as binding contracts between states. if one state broke the law, another might have the right to also break the law. i don't think that's the expectation now. the expectation is that le jatimate governments follow the rule of law and they adhere to international law and we have seen putin start to back pedal by trying to invent reasons why his intervention is legal. you have seen him change his tune. what i was trying to do is help us understand why is he all of a sudden saying that the ukrainian government is legitimate and why is he saying these are not russian forces. he's not claiming involvement

because to do so would make it illegal. thank you. anank you,an wants to know what is really on the table here. we will get answers and the political fight over claims that the irs targeted political kbrups turned into a shouting match. we will show you what happened. hilary clinton invoking the nazas. did she go too far?

>> secretary of state john kerry as well as president obama scheduled to speak this hour. kerry after his meeting with the russian foreign minster. obama is at an event in connecticut where he could make remarks on ukraine and we will bring you both of those events live when they begin. u.s. officials like to say all options are on the table when it comes to the crisis in ukraine and how they are going to deal with russia. what does that mean exactly. sanctions, yes. what about the military. chuck hagel testified before the services committee who is peppered with questions about the pentagon's response to the crisis in ukraine. >> i think everyone knows and in particular i know senator mccain

was in ukraine and studied from leadership. it's a time for all of us to stand in support of the territorial integrity and we are doing that. >> secretary hagel is talking about suspending military exercises and stepping up joint training in poland and stepping up from the police commission. the question is, is this enough to take the u.s. seriously. for more on that, we are joined by retired colonel, a former aid to nato's supreme commander. thanks for being here with us. appreciate it. >> thank you for having me on. >> can you put the steps and the options we saw hagel lay out into perspective.

will this put the squeeze on moscow? >> not really. we are taking the actions because those are the only places we have troops available in eastern europe. if we want to put the squeeze on, we would go to nato and discuss putting the ukraine on an accelerated timeline for entry into the treaty organization. that would put the squeeze on moscow. same as georgia. we could say if russia invaded ukraine, they invaded georgia, we would put that on a membership. this would get moscow's attention. >> how likely do you think that is? would you have seen this russian incursion into crimea if ukraine was in nato and do you expect in

the wake of what's happened here for many more joining? >> it would trigger nato involvement in the crisis. this would be a political decision and a very momentous to bring nato up to the border. it would get flood mile an hour putin's attention. >> let me ask you this. russian troops who took part in recent games are still in the field and haven't returned to the barracks. should that worry the u.s.? do you think those exercises could be a smoke screen or is this something that really the use shouldn't read into? >> i think we should be worried. crimea is the first step and there plenty of russians in the

senior parts of ukraine where russia could deploy and slice off. >>s of ukraine. slice off parts of georgia with that country. this is very serious. we shouldn't expect crimea to be part of the crisis. this is not unlike nazi germany and the cessation of the plan and ethnic speaking germans and an area that will be given to the czechoslovakia by the treaty of 1919, 20 years before. this is sort of the same playbook. >> let me ask you about what secretary hagel talked to you about. perhaps provide weapons to ukraine. does that make sense?

>> we have a military relationship. the guard has a close relationship with training missions to ukrainian troops. we have that military relationship established and get russia's attention and we should expand on it with the one step of the joint military training and considering a timeline for putting the ukraine into nato. again, a political decision, but one that would certainly get vladimir putin's attention. >> retired colonel, thank you so much for taking the time. i will scoot you right to connecticut where president obama is addressing the crowd. >> we have friends that have been battering the middle class well before this great recession hit. in some ways the trends have gotten worse, not better.

folks at the top were doing better than ever. average wages have barely budged. incomes have not gone up. too many americans are working harder than ever to keep up. as i said in my state of the union address, we have to reverse those trends. it is a central task to build an economy that works for everybody and not just for some. that's what every one of the governors and tom perez believes in. that's what we got into basketball service for. they don't mind me sharing this. while we are driving over here, they were talking about the fact that when they were growing up, they had dyslexia.

because of this incredible fierce love of their parents, but also because there were folks there to help them, they achieved and made these extraordinary achievements. and came from a very modest background. but somebody gave them a chance. so many of us in the central premises is a chance to achieve your dreams if you work hard. if you take responsibility.

it doesn't matter where you start, it's where you finish. and in america we believe in opportunity for all. we believe that our success should not be determined by the circumstances of our birth. it's determined by each of us, but also by a society that is committed to everybody to succeed. it doesn't matter where you come from and what you look like and what your last name is and who you love. what matters is the strength of your work ethic and the power of your dreams and willingness to take responsibility for yourself and also for the larger society. that's what makes america the place that it is and why it continues to be a beacon attracting people from all-around the world.

the idea that you can make it if you try. there is news about the foreign affairs and also for the last couple of years. a trend you see that doesn't matter whether it's in central europe or the mideast or africa, individuals want a chance to make it. what makes it special is we already knew that. when we are at our best, we have work to do to matchup our ideals with the reality that's happening on the ground right now. it is designed to help us restore that for every generation who are studying here and about to enter the

workforce. it's got four parts. part one is something i know the seniors are interested in. more good jobs that pay good wages. we can't be satisfied with just recovering the jobs that were lot of in the recession. we have to rebuild the economy so it is creating a steady supply of good jobs today and into the future. jobs in high tech manufacturing and energy and exports and american innovation. that's job number one. number two is training more americans with the skill they need to fill those good jobs. our workforce is prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. part three. guaranteeing every young person in the country access to a world class education from pre-k all the way to a college education

like the one you are getting here. that's why over the past five years, working with the outstanding congressional delegation, we have been able to make sure that grand dollars are going further than before. we took on a student loan system that gave billions of taxpayer dollars to the big banks and said let's use them to give more students what they need to go to college. that's why we are offering millions of young people a chance to cap student loan payments at 10% of income. you need to check it out and go to the website at the department of education and find out how to be eligible. more young people are earning college degrees than ever before. of course and i know your

president won't disagree with this, you have to reign in the soaring cost of college and americans who are trapped by student loan debt. bottom line is whether it's technical training or community college or four-year university, no young person should be priced out of a higher education. shouldn't happen. there is a fourth part of this agenda. i just noticed, if you have chairs, feel free to sit down. i know the folks here don't have chairs, but i don't want you guys -- if you are standing up, bend your knees so you don't faint. all right. i just wanted to check on you. now, point number four, the

fourth component of this opportunity agenda is making sure that if you are working hard, then you get ahead. that means making sure women receive equal pay for equal work. when women succeed, america succeeds. i believe that. you happy with that, rosa? rosa agrees with that. it means making sure that you can save and retire with dignity. it means health insurance that is there when you are sick and you need it most.

you guys are doing a great job implementing the affordable care act here in connecticut. if any of you know a young person who is uninsured, help them get covered at healthcare.gov. the website works just fine now. you have until march 31st to sign up and in some cases it costs less than your cell phone bill. check it out. healthcare.gov. and making work pay means wages and paychecks that let you support a family. a wage, a paycheck that lets you support a family. now, i want to be clear about this. sometimes in our debates with our friends on the other side of the political spectrum, this may not be clear. so let me repeat it once again. as americans, we understand that

some folks are going to earn more than others. we don't recent success. we are thrilled with the opportunities that america affords. somebody goes out and starts a business and invents a new product, that's what drives our economy and why the free market is the most dynamic on earth. we are thrilled with that. everybody agrees. we also believe that nobody who works full time should have to raise a family in poverty. that violates a basic sense of who we are. that's why it's time to give america a raise. it is time to give america a raise. now is the time.

now is the time. a year ago i asked congress to raise the minimum wage. the federal minimum wage. since that time, six states passed laws to raise theirs, including right here in connecticut. on january 1st, tens of thousands of folks got a raise. governor malloy is working to lift the wages even higher. hawaii, illinois, maryland, minnesota, washington state, counties and cities across the country are working to raise their minimum wage as we speak. the governors here today, governor from rhode island and connecticut and vermont and a

governor who wouldn't be here today of new hampshire all are fighting to give hardworking folks in these great new england states a raise of their own. they formed a regional o aal coalition. new england will have some of the highest minimum wages in the country. they are not stopping there. these four governors are in support of raising america's minimum wage, the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. raising wages is not just a job for elected officials. in my state of the union, i asked more business leaders to do what they can to raise their workers's wages.

profitable companies like costco have long seen higher wages as good business. it's a smart way to boost productivity and reduce turn over and still be loyal to your employees. by the way, they do great. they are highly profitable. it's not bad business to do right by your workers. it's good business. that's good business. two weeks ago, the gap decided to raise its base wages. that's going to boost wamges. last week i read about jackson's. it's an ice cream parlor in florida in business since 1956. they just announced they would

lift to at least $10.10 an hour without cutting back on hiring. two weeks ago in atlanta, a small business owner named darian sutherland wrote me to share a lesson his granny taught him. if you treat your employees right, they will treat you right. vice president biden paid dare an's business a visit just yesterday. you have to listen to your grandmother. that is some wise advice. i agree with these business leaders as well. so what i did as president, i issued an executive order requiring federal contractors if you are doing business with the federal government, pay your employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour. that is good for america's bottom line. and let me you who was affected.

when i was signing the bill, the executive order, we had some of the workers who would be affected. you have folks who were cooking the meals of our troops. they are washing their dishes. or cleaning their clothes. this country should pay those folks a wage you can live on. so this is good for business. it is good for business and good for america. even though we are bringing manufacturing jobs back to the united states, creating more good jobs in education and health care and business services, there will always be airport workers and fast food workers and hospital workers. there will be retail sales people. hospitality workers. people who work their tails off every day.

people working in nursing homes and looking after your grandparents or parents. folks who are doing all the hard jobs that make our society work. every single day. they don't have anything flashy out there. you know what, they are not expecting to get rich. they do feel like if they are putting in back breaking work every day, the least they can pay is this. they deserve an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. the working americans have struggled through stagnant wages for too long. my goal and the goal of everybody on this stage is to help lift wages, help lift take home pay in any way we can. that's why i have done everything i can to lift wages

for hardworking federal contractors and business owners to raise their wages and i'm supporting officials at the elected level and governors. what every american wants is a paycheck to let them support their families and passed down optimism to their kids. that's worth fighting for. but i want to make one last point. if we are going to finish the job. congress has to get on board. congress has to get on board. and this is interesting. this should not be that hard. nearly three in four americans and half of all republicans support raising the minimum wage. the problem is, problems in congress oppose raising the minimum wage.

maybe i should say i oppose raising the minimum wage. the day before, that's possible. right now a bill in front of the house and the senate that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. just passing this bill would help not only lift wages for about 200,000 people just right here in connecticut, it would lift wages for about one million new englanders. it would lift wages for 28 million americans throughout this country. it would raise people out of poverty and help them work their way out of poverty and doesn't

require new spending and doesn't require new bureaucracy. here's one last point. it turns out what happens if workers got more money in their pockets. they spend more money that means suddenly businesses have more customers which means they make more profits. which means they can hire more workers. which means you get a virtuous cycle. it's common sense. that's what i'm talking about. it's just common sense. that's all it is. it's common sense. common sense. it's just common sense. that's all i'm saying.

now, right now republicans in congress don't want to vote on raising the minimum wage. some said they want to scrap the minimum wage. one said i think it outlived usefulness. i voted to repeal it. one said it never worked. some of them said it only helps young people. as if that's a bad thing. i think we should want to help young people. i would like to see them put themselves through college on a low wage work study job. actually i would like to see them make a living on less than $15,000 a year. here's the truth about who would help. most people get a raise are not

teenagers on the first job. the average age is 35. a majority of lower wage jobs of held by women. they are working fall time. if the minimum wage kept pace with the productivity, they would be earning well over $10 an hour today. instead it's stuck at $7.25. every time they refuse to raise it, cost of living goes higher and minimum wage stays the same and 20% less than it was when ronald reagan took office. since over the last years since i asked congress to do something and they didn't, that was the equivalent of a $200 pay cut because it didn't take place with inflation. that's two months worth of electricity. this is not a small thing. this is a big deal. it makes a big difference in the lives of a lot of families.

so members of congress have a choice to make. it is a clear choice. raise workers's wages, grow our economy or let wages stag nate further and give what amounts to another pay cut. fortunately folks in connecticut have really good delegations. the senators and representatives are on board. they are all on board. they are fighting the good fight. anybody who is watching at home, you deserve to know where your elected official stands. just ask him. do you support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. if they say yes, say thanks. great job. we need encouragement too. elected officials. if they say no, you should be

polite, but you should say why not? ask them to reconsider. ask them to side with the majority of americans. instead of saying no, for once say yes. it's time to give americans a raise. i want to close by sharing a story of a guy name doug wade who is here today. where is doug. i am going to embarrass doug. here's doug right here. doug a chance to meet secretary perez in hartford. doug is the president of the company there in bridge port. his great grandfather, frank, started the family business in 1893.

1893. one of the secrets to their success is that they treat their employees like part of the family. doug pays his own workers fairly. he goes a step further and writes editorials and talks to fellow business leaders and meets with elected officials to make the case for a higher minimum wage for everybody. keep in mind doug spent most of his life as a registered republican. this is not about politics. this is about common sense. it's about business sense. and doug, we were talking back stage, doug showed me a pay stub. it describes his own story. when he was flipping burgers in 1970, his employer paid him the minimum wage, but it went 25%

further than it does today. doug speaks from experience when he says that things like the minimum wage raise the bar for everybody. he still has that paycheck. it looks like the paycheck i got when i was working at bask in robins. the point that doug and his family and business represents, is we believe in hard work and responsibility and individual initiative. we come together to raise the bar for everybody. they can look after their kids and lift them up. we look out for each other. that's who we are. that is our story. there millions of americans like doug and like all of you who are

tired of the arguments ready to move the bar higher. let's move the country further and go further. that's what i'm going to do as period and i need your help. let's give america a raise. god bless the united states of america. . >> that is president obama who wrapped up comments in new britain, connecticut urging them to increase the minimum wage. he did not make remarks on ukraine. and on russia. we were looking to see if he would and he did not. we are waiting on john kerry who is in paris. john kerry has been meeting with russian foreign minster

throughout the day. they had multiple meetings that involve other allies. they try to reach resolution on ukraine and certainly at russia's involvement in the crisis. they are trying to create some resolution and ratchet down the pressure so it doesn't escalate to something more dire than it is at this point. i want to bring in from paris, we assume he may make news. we will bring that to you as soon as it happens. let's bring in the editor in chief joining us from new york. guys, thanks for joining us. as soon as john kerry comes out, we know the remarks have been brief. i am going to cut out and have you hold your thought and

revisit on the back side of his remarks. first to you. the gop is pushing back on raising the minimum wage. how realistic is the push for passing this. is this an election year overture? >> not in this congress unless they can get a democratic palace, he cannot get an increase. he knows that. this is a mid-term speech and a campaign speech he delivered in connecticut. the president did have a chancing reference to events overseas. >> jim, i'm going to have you hold your thought for just a moment. we will have something to talk about after john kerry comes out and makes his remarks in paris. secretary of state, john kerry.

there you heard it. john kerry saying we are going to have a statement in a little while. things are fast moving at this point. there is a lot of diplomacy in a number of european allies working to find a resolution. and we heard president obama talking about the minimum wage. were you surprised he didn't talk about ukraine? >> i was. this was as jim said a mid-term election speech. a campaign speech. the world is looking to the president and a dense time. the negotiations are going on and a region of the world seems

close to the precipice of war. for a domestic audience and the campaign won at that. not what they were looking to hear. you heard secretary kerry here and you heard the french foreign minster who came out and gave a quick remark. kerry didn't do that. you kind of get the sense that he doesn't have something to say at this point and they are organizing their thoughts and trying to come to something with a status check. president obama doesn't comment on what's going on in ukraine and doesn't comment on russia at the top of his remarks as he has done before. things are fast moving and he is deferring to secretary kerry at this point. >> i think what the president is trying to do is give the diplomacy room to breathe. one word we heard several times over the last 24 hours,

deescalate. he thinks the crisis can be deescalated. the treasury secretary set it up and one thing we should point out, cnn has confirmed that the chancellor did talk with putin about how steps bring something to them. they were talking about the off-ramp. she is acting as an intermediary. >> he didn't say anything today. he is getting criticism from republican who is say that he is weak. we heard republicans say "the washington post" really slammed

pop. can he do anything? this is fast moving and his options are limited. you have a war-weary u.s. it is that bully pulpit. they will attack the president on anything they can find. they seem schizophrenic with regard to the constitution or a weak commander in chief. you are not going to win with that audience. trying to say that russia is a major player. they set a counter balance and that is largely a moral role. it is a moral clarity while the diplomacy goes on.

>> john avalon and jim acosta, thanks to both of you. we are awaiting comments if he is going to give them and coming up next, anderson cooper with the latest on the situation there. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

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. >> good afternoon, everyone. live from kiev in for brooke baldwin. it is 3:00 on the east coast of the united states. 10:00 p.m. here in kiev. any minute we are expected to hear from secretary of state john kerry. he said a short time ago, he would be making a statement very soon. we will bring you that live when it happens. for the first time since russian boots hit ukrainian soil in

crimea, robert sari agreed to end his mission and leave the region. it was a bizarre day for him. he was threatened by a group of armed men who wanted him to get into a vehicle. he refused to get into the vehicle. we will have more on the hour ahead. this is german chancellor angela merkel. a man she said just this week is out of touch with reality. we will hear the details on that back in washington. defense secretary chuck hagel is beefing up the mission in poland and adding claims to a baltic air patrol mission. in moscow, more news to tell you about. lawmakers are going tit for tat and drawing up a measure that would essentially confis case

u.s. and european assets. if the u.s. and europe slap sanctions on russia and that is a big if. diplomats from the ukraine to u.s. and britain. they have agreed to deploy international observers to ukraine. the idea here is to ease russia's concerns. also after president putin indicated he was worried about the safety of russians in ukraine, an excuse for an invasion and very few in washington are buying that excuse. >> we don't accept anything that president putin said for the ethnic minority. and the other reasons that the russians have laid out as to why they took the action they did.

>> whether that's going to happen, they have a track record of success. they helped seal a last minute deal on syria's chemical weapons. that will bring in the former diplomat from burns. back when you worked for the united states state department, lift the vail for us. what happened inside these high level diplomatic meetings that have been taking place all day today. what can kerry offer him to try to bring the russians to the negotiating table. >> i think this is very difficult. president putin has been holding most of the cards and invaded crimea. secretary kerry will draw on two things. there has been universal condemn nation of the government and president putin. this is not a government that doesn't care about his image. putin care a lot. secretary kerry can paint them

as isolated. you are right to say, anderson, that there is not unity between the eu and the u.s. in terms of what to do, but the house foreign affairs committee throughout the bill, there will be sanctions from the u.s. secretary kerry will point to that and say there is a way out for russia and the way out is to allow civilian observers reassure whoever is concerned that the ethnic russian population of the eastern ukraine and crimea. that's not a strong hand, but secretary kerry is pressing that point. >> it's hard to get in his head, but do you believe that the russians actually believe that russian speaking people in eastern urk crane and crimea are under threat? there have been no aren'ts from

any independent journalists on the ground that said that occurred. do you think they believe that? >> i think you are exactly right. there is no evidence whatsoever since the day that jan covish fled, there has been a problno . this is all fabricated by the russian propaganda machine. you look at russian television and they are describing the government if kiev in ways that are absolutely slanderous and untrue. this is a fabrication by president putin to excuse his military invasion of crimea. diplomats open doors and secretary kerry and angela merkel are trying to give putin a way out and that's an open question. >> it also seems like secretary kerry in his statements, he was

on the ground here at this spot in fact in independence square and talking to leaders, he was very careful to try to assure russia of their historic relationship with the ukraine and which he said was going continue. that seems crucial on the part of the u.s. try to show to russia that the u.s. is not interested in dominating relations with ukraine. ukraine is always going to because of geography going to have a strong relationship with russia. >> you are right. ukraine and russians have been together since kiev back in the 10th centuries. no one can deny it. you will remember when president obama spoke with president putin in that 90-minute phone call in the white house statement after that, they mentioned that president obama had reassured president putin that the united states was sensitive to this

fact. president obama was reported to have said in that conversation, you don't need to invade or use the military to reassure the ethnic russians. that can be done by the united nations or the organization of security and cooperation. the osce was btd for this kind of thing. a lot of experiences know this well. they are trying to show a bay out. it's hard to believe they will take it, but it's an effort worth making. >> we are a wading comments from his counterparts throughout just recently. we anticipate that shortly. moscow is armed with a threat right now, telling other countries to essentially butt out and stay out of the situation and of the intervention in ukraine or it will cost them if sanctions are

imposed. they are willing to seize assets here in kiev. a former bureau chief for cnn also with the school of government. she is a fellow there. what do you make of the diplomatic efforts that have been under way? >> i think it's extreme. if they say they will seize assets, they happen right at the beginning of the end of the soviet union, that's really a red flag any company that would want to invest. >> they are doing business in russia. >> what are does it mean for investment in russia? doesn't that backfire? >> in terms of the diplomatic front, trying to find an off-ramp for russia.

the main part is the rights and the fears of the people in the east and russian speakers want the protection of russia and they are fearful that the government in place right now is extreme in their view and will at the very least impact their rights and maybe even do things. >> also about the concerns of vladimir putin. >> you have to say that his fears of losing ukraine and losing control, the situation that has changed rapidly. a few weeks ago, he thought it was kind of in the can that they have the agreement, perhaps something with the eu and they would come russia's way. i think in analyzing what he has

been doing, he didn't know how to react. you can see. now they are some i think maybe strategic, but they were making it up as they go along. the importance they put on the public face. in some ways, that's why the olympics were all about. >> i would agree with you and don't forget when he's talking, he's talking to an international audience, but also talking to a domestic audience. russia does not want to be insulted. he has to project himself as a very strong leader. he does not apologize and explain. that's very much because of a

domestic situation. i asked him what he wants to come from this crisis. how he hopes it resolves and how he hopes the events were. listen. you want to see the observation. the main goal. with the human rights. it's a main point. that's why the woman that we have here, he is for european immigration and that was a

demonstration. we will have more images tonight at 8:00 east coast time in the united states. 3:00 here in the ukraine. coming up on this program, critics are saying they were caught off guard by russia's recent actions. were analysts not ready for the moves? if that's right, why? the best way to deal with vladimir putin is to ignore him? is that possible? stay with us. ...you could be a victim of fraud. most people don't even know it. fraud could mean lower credit scores,

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and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. . welcome back. we are live in kiev with the latest on the ukrainian crisis. we are awaiting a statement from john kerry in paris and meeting with russia's foreign minster. we want to bring in our correspondent who is traveling with secretary kerry. give us a sense of what has gone on about the meeting with the foreign minster and others. >> it's been a day of diplomacy in successes. several meetings and groupings.

first the secretary kerry met with the ukraine kbran and british foreign minster. they were talking about trying to get monitors on the ground. the single sales objective between the u.s. and the british and the french and the germans trying to get them to sit down with the ukrainian foreign minster to get this process going. secretary kerry met several times with the colleague and then he had a private meeting with the russian foreign minster and trying to get the meeting going. in the end he left paris without having met with him, but he did say they would continue talks and try to deescalate the crisis. not closing the door entirely, but given that russia does not recognize this government, it's hard for the foreign minster to sit down. you also have this french and german plan to go back to this

february 21st agreement. have some of the thing that is the foreign minster and president putin like in terms of having russian interests taken into account. it remains to be seen how the diplomacy will continue. it will be a long night, anderson. >> so in the comments with secretary kerry, we are not expecting breakthroughs to be announced? >> i don't think any bre breakthrou breakthrough, but secretary kerry wants to sit down. >> you can't have a crisis without somebody -- i'm sorry, go ahead. i wasn't hearing you. go ahead. >> that's okay. secretary kerry i think will continue to work it over the next couple of days and urge the foreign minster of russia to sit down. we can address your concerns

that you have in the ukraine and particularly the crimean peninsula. i don't think he will announce breakthroughs and he wants to continue to try to get the meeting together and work with the british and the french and the german and try to get the international monitors on the ground. they keep acknowledging russia has interests in ukraine and the crimean pe nininsulapeninsula. pull your troops back and pull back from the skbrink letbrink get a dialogue going. >> we will be checking in with you as we hear from secretary kerry always lessons to be learned like the one from ukraine. my next guest said the beast way to deal with putin is to ignore him. is that possible? we will talk to him ahead. we'll be right back.

>> in all of the obvious discussions with the question of ukraine. but the countries that came to paris today for this very important and timely meeting are all of us bound together by very strong commitment to lebanon. as syria's conflict spills over lebanon's borders and the refugee crisis grows, we are deeply concerned for the security and the sovereignty of the people of lebanon and for the simple ability to be able to chart their own futures and fulfill the same basic

aspirations they share with everybody else on the planet. the president pulled out and showed me a very dramatic charting that goes for the last few years. four different charts. they show you the extraordinary change in lebanon with the numbers of refugees as every year with the entire country has become a splotch of red instead of red dots. the entire border as the refugees in lebanon. this has extraordinary impact on the internal dynamics of the country. people who are looking for work and people who work for less and drives wages down. the united states is proud to provide lebanon just in the last year or so with respect to the

development process, $340 million the last few years in humanitarian aid and we will continue to support the lebanese armed forces and other security institutions. of course you can't talk about the values of sovereignty, security, and determination and economic opportunity without coming quickly back to the events of the last days in ukraine. ukrainians told me yesterday in kiev how desperately they want a government that has the consent of the people. they will live like anybody else. today our fellow foreign minsters and i met separately

with our ukrainian counterpart, foreign minster and our russian counterpart foreign minster. we met as a group also. a group of concern countries. we agreed to continue intense discussions in the coming days with russia and with the ukrainians in order to see how we can help normalize the situation, stabilize it, and overcome the crisis. and those intentions are intentions that are shared exactly as i have described them between russia, the united states, and the european countries and ukrainians who were here. all parties agreed today that it is important to try to resolve the issues through dialogue.

the u.s. is focusing on a remedy. i don't believe as any of us believe as president obama doesn't believe it and i don't believe the other countries are working with and i know they don't believe that any of us are served are served by greater confrontation. we cannot and will not allow the integrity of the sovereignty of the country of ukraine to be violated and for them to go unanswered. the territorial integrity has actually united the world in support of the ukrainian people. and this morning, secretary hagel announced that the defense department is taking steps to

reassure our nato allies steps like expanding our aviation detachment in poll ant and our contributions to nato's baltic air policing mission. this is on top of other steps that the united states has already taken. steps like suspending our bilateral discussions with russia and trade and investment and suspending military engagement and suspending preparations for the g8 summit in sochi. as i said yesterday, president obama said as well, russia made a choice. we stated it is voluntary that is the choice of the troops into crimia. russia can now choose to deescalate the situation and we are committed to working with

russia and with our friends and allies in an effort to provide a way for this entire situation to find the road to deescalation. the united states is ready to work with all parties to make that happen. to make it happen as soon as possible. we renew our call for russia to speak directly to the government of ukraine to send troops back to their bases and to welcome international observers in human rights monitors. we have seen today with what happened with special envoyer issy, just how important it is to ensure the safety of those monitors and observers. ukraine's territorial integrity must be restored and must be respected. the united states stands ready to help our friends in a time of need.

today those needs obviously are great in different places. different kinds of needs and different places. we especially thank our friends here in france for their partnership as we work to address these challenges and many others. for instance, iran's nuclear program is working together. violence in the central african republic are working and the pursuit of rec sill nation, we are working together. all of these efforts require international cooperation. coming together as a community of nations as we did was the best way to resolve these kinds of problems that concern us. today i believe we initiated a process that over the next couple of days we hope can bring us to that deescalation and a path where the protection of the integrity of the country and stronger reps between other nations.

on that note, i will be delighted to take any questions. >> you just renewed the u.s. call to russia to speak directly to the new ukrainian government. you were hoping that that would happen today, right? here between the ukrainian fore minster who accompanied you for that purpose. why did that effort fail and what assurance did you get if any from the russians that they might be willing to have that kind of conversation in the future. >> let me make it crystal clear. i had no expectation, zero expectation that today that kind of a meeting would take place. i did not expect it and we did not ask the foreign minster to come here for that purpose.

the premises is not in terms of what we expected. we brought him here because we knew that it was inappropriate for us to have discussions with the minster who i knew i had a meeting with. it would have been inappropriate to come here to paris and a group of nations to join together and without the engagement and involvement and sign off for the people who are concerned. this is a ukrainian decision. we respect that. we met all of us as a group of foreign minsters with the foreign minster and we went through and solicited opinions. i will be in touch later with the foreign minster as well as with the prime minister of

ukraine. we will continue that discussion. i will also continue discussion with the foreign minster tomorrow. the foreign minster will return to have discussions and continue to have that discussion. i will obviously have an opportunity to have discussion with president obama and with the team in the white house. in order to discuss the road forward. we had very thorough discussions today and very extensive. exchanged inside and we both had thoughts to take that back to the capitals and the respective bosses. i intend to do that with hopes and the ideas that were put on the table today. they are to the place of deescalation that i talked about.

>> [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language] >> well, the decisions for the europeans are decisions for the europeans.

they are meeting tomorrow and i don't think it's appropriate for me to weigh in publicly on their deliberations. respect to the premises again of your question, don't assume that we did not make or have serious conversations which produce creative and appropriate inside and possibilities for how we can resolve this. i think that we have a number of inside on the table. i personally feel as if i have something concrete to take back and talk to president obama about so i can get his input and thinking and advice on what he is prepared to do. i believe that the foreign minster is in exactly the same position with respect to president putin. i don't think any of us had ann

'tis pagz that we were coming here at this moment in this atmosphere and we are suddenly going to resolve that here this afternoon. that offers the best chance and the world would welcome without conflict. as we said, we agreed to that. we are all better served if this is resolved through dialogue. that's important. it was a strong indication that koops not just between us, but between us and the capitals.

it is that obviously chars a path forward that has respect for the people of ukraine and the direction that they have chosen to move in. i would forward to the conversations over the course of the next days and we will see where we are. i think without accomplishing something that is not to find yet. without raising hopes, we hope it's appropriate to raise. i want to be realistic. it is hard and tough stuff. very serious moment. i would rather be where we are today than yesterday. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary.

anything in your direct conversation that makes you believe that russia is no longer creating a pretext for further invasion and did you hear anything that would make you hear the threat to put sanctions on russia. that seems weakened by reluctance. >> i don't think it's weakened at all. >> with the prime minister of france and great britain and the eu representatives and they indicated to me that people are very serious about that. that moves away from everything i said through the day before. that stands that that is where we are.

we are pursuing as president obama indicated he would like to in his comments yesterday or the day before. as i indicated on sunday, in my comments, we would prefer to find an appropriate diplomatic solution to us. we made it clear to stand up with the disagreement that russia made. our hope that we can find a way forward that respects the rights and aspirations of the people at large in east, west, south, all of ukraine. that's our goal. nothing has changed. we made it clear that the decision to go to crimea is not without cost. now we need to go forward and

see if we avoid everybody being put in a corner where it's more and more difficult to find the path that presents you with the solution of dialogue. i was encouraged today that russia indicated that they would prefer to see us be able to find that fact. that's the beginning of a negotiation. this will go on for whatever period of time to come. our position has not changed one bit. thank you all very much. appreciate it. >> secretary of state john kerry speaking after a busy day of

diplomacy. as well as russia and ukraine. he is still talking. let's listen. we are going to continue our discussion. the headline coming towards the end, secretary kerry saying this is the beginning of negotiations. nothing concrete to show for efforts. he has something to bring back to president obama although he did not specify what that might be. he said he felt there was nothing concrete to point to as a sign of success. he doesn't believe it was a failure. all sides including russia believed that dialogue is the best way to resolve the situation. ha is something that from the diplomatic front that they hoped to be able to do.

the national correspondent with the senior political analyst. he knows much about the world of diplomacy. let me start with you. in terms of what you heard, clearly no headlines about direct progress. all countries stress dialogue is the best way to move forward. is that talk or a sign of progress? i don't think it was a wash. it was an important day of diplomacy, but the secretary said he didn't bring the foreign minster to meet with the russian foreign minster. he flew on our plane from kiev to paris and the foreign minster told us he hoped that he would meet with the russian foreign minster and sat down to get the meeting together. yes, he met with the others, but

the single sales objectives today was to get the meeting going. you saw the german chancellor talking with president putin today. a german french proposal on the table that would have some elements of this february 21st agreement that ended this standoff with president janecovich things that russians liked in there. having a national unity government. having elections coming up. having an element of interest because there a lot of russian-speaking people in ukraine that have been towards russia. secretary kerry is going to meet with him tomorrow again and they will both go back and president putin will speak with his foreign minster and it does seem that they didn't get going with that important meeting that we were looking for. i think there is diplomacy in

play that will shake over over the coming days. >> your reading of what you heard. >> the opening of a diplomatic path, but just the beginning. there is nothing concrete and it is constructively, but nothing defined yet. he noted the things that have to happen still to resolve this crisis. one being returning the russian forces that left the bases in crimea back to the bases. that hasn't happened. he cited contact between the russian and ukrainian government. that step has not happened yet either and there were multiple opportunities for that to happen. still sig i 95 cant. you have the top diplomats meeting since the crisis started. i draw your tension to the comments before kerry spoke. he spoke about the u.s. and russian support for the february 21st agreement negotiated in

ukraine to stop the protests in the square where you are standing right now. the elements are necessary to moving forward. new elections and returning to the older constitution and they didn't have the power grab with the victory that janecovich is putting in. the starting point, we are at the starting point of that diplomatic process. you have a volatile attacks on the envoy and the standoff between russian and ukrainian forces when shots were fired in the air. as long as that continues, there is a danger of these things spiraling out of control. >> he did not seem as eager or

willing to go along with the storm of sanctions. that hebron an issue for the nation. >> absolutely. i think if you remember one or two days ago, there was concern we might have conflict and the russians might move into eastern ukraine. to have an understanding today that they would rather talk than fight. that is progress. to tough measures. we have seen in the syrian resolution, what would that let to? we now have a side with more ter towies. more powerful than he was.

the chances of getting putin to loosen his grip and give up access to the warm water port. it seemed very remote. if we get into a long negotiation, the truth is the world may get a little more complacent and accept the status quo. you don't get eastern ukraine, but they get to crimea. that is not a good out come. >> but david, if russia was really just mainly interested in the safety, the rights of russian speaking people in crimea, that's what the pretext for going in has been. i'm not saying they are not actually concerned, but there is no evidence on the ground of attacks against russian speaking people. the idea of international monitors would certainly seem to put that to rest. there is a lot more at stake for russia here in crimea.

>> that's true, but the russians have not shown interest in putting observers on the ground. if it happens, that will be terrific. right now i don't think many internationals will give that a high probability. it might be more interesting to put them in the eastern ukraine. it would prevent them and discourage them from sending troops there. eastern ukraine is still in play. we may never get that back. i don't see any evidence and i would welcome and it would be wonderful, but the idea of having the rugs stand down, that would have to require a change of stripes. >> what do you make of secretary kerry saying that the european union nations, there is not push

back on the idea of sanctions against russia. >> we know that's not true because german and french officials said they think diplomacy should go forward before there sanctions and they are considering it, but they have all of these economic interests. we have been reporting over the last couple of days about the british documents that one of the officials was taking out of 10 downing street. they shouldn't impose sanctions. officials want to say they are not in step with the europeans, but they are not in lock step with the europeans. the europeans want to go first for diplomacy. don't ever think that sanctions is the first way to go. they are saying they could impose the sanctions, but the sanctions that are really going to hurt russia, that takes time. i hate to ramp it up. it starts with asset freezes and

vans on individual officials. then you move to companies. then you move to banks with a real biting sanction that would take time and you hurt the europeans. that's not in the offering. i think officials privately acknowledge that. that's something they have done in the past and could try to extend if they wanted to. >> no question. you are referring to the rule that was a response to the killing of a russian whistle blower in effect. that of course led to a russian response which was cancelling u.s. adoptions. it's a powerful tactic. it worked with iran as well. with iran, the sanctions expanded to go on to iranian companies and banks. that sort of thing. the resolution is non-binding, but comes before the senate

affairs committee includes not just individuals, but the state owned banks and companies which would require the option of our european partners. if you were able to get to the stage, we were talking about real money. i also wanted to highlight a point which is right. as these stretch out, there has been a lot of talk about facts on the ground. they created facts on the ground in crimea. we talked a lot about what is putin's end game. there is an argument that he achieved that. he established russian interests in and russian access to and russian control over that key area of crimea that includes the key bases that we talked about. you can see the european allies possibly getting in a position where they could live with that. that's a precedent. the longer the talks drag out and if the troops don't return

to their bases, the facts become more ingrained. you might have seen putin pull off that move here. >> thanks very much. we will continue the crisis in the ukraine. we will take a short break and be right back. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people

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the situation in ukraine and crimea, there's been a lot of questions if the u.s. didn't see this coming. how is it possible with satellites and cyber warfare that troops could invade another country, entry another country, and the u.s. be caught flat

footed? we seem to misjudge russia's president again and again saying he won't do that and when he does the united states seems surprised, shocked. mike, what do you make of this? was this a failure of intelligence? and if so, what do you think caused it? >> i mean, first of all, i'm surprised that it took as long as it did in washington before the intel failure to surface. usually it pops up quicker than this. and it's a standard default here particularly in washington to go go that way. the cia has been reporting and providing analysis on the increasing escalation in ukraine along with russian activity and troop movements involving the black sea fleet for weeks now going back before the sochi olympics. and all that information gets

provided to the white house as part of the process to deliver the presidential daily brief. so i think the question here isn't so much was this an intel failure but, you know, how much information eventually made it in to the pdb and was this more a failure of the white house to take the reporting and analysis that they were being provided with, make no mistake about that, did they fail to act on it or take it seriously. >> the other question, though, is -- i mean, it's one thing to see troop movements, to see shift moving, another to understand intentions, which is often -- can boil down to human intelligence. there are those who say that the cia's capabilities and other intelligence community's capabilities have atrophied due to the focus on terrorism, focusing on russia. those capabilities have atrophied. do you think that's true? >> i think you raise a very important point in that there is no doubt that the focus over the past ten years plus on terrorism

has -- not that we can't multitask because we do, but it has put a focus elsewhere other than what you would consider to be the traditional cia role. you can't argue that it's had some impact, but quite frankly our human intelligence is very good in this area and reporting was provided. there was -- it's not as if we just woke up and said oh my god, the russians are in crimea. that's not the case. the reporting was provided but i think you raised a very important point as well, just a moment ago, when you said that we've been misunderstanding and underestimating putin for quite some time, not just his current administration, certainly the previous administration as well. >> we certainly saw that in 2008 in russian actions in georgia. mike baker, wish we had more time. we got cut short tu to the secretary's remarks. appreciate you being with us. what is the best way to deal with vladimir putin? our next guest says ignore him.

the crisis in ukraine, vladimir putin is hardly the master grand strategist that many cold warriors have been eager to believe. what do you mean? is this a sign of weakness by vuten? >> i think he played this all wrong. the crimea has basically been a russian possession for a long time. it's formerly ukraine.

invading it as they have is a serious violation of international law. but they have the black sea fleet there, many people in crimea regard themselves as russians. had putin just hung on, waitesed for the elections, which might elect a pro-russia candidate, and in any event, whoever wins would have to deal with russia, you know, i think he could have come off looking pretty -- like, you know, a rational figure. instead he's acting like a bully, he's come in strong, he's alienated not only the west which wants to deal with him but also a lot of pro-russia ukrainians as well. i think it's been a serious strategic miscalculation. >> so, fred, we only have about a minute left. you talk about the idea of ignoring vladimir putin. what do you mean by that? >> initially, to solve this crisis he has to be involved. this has to be a joint russian solution. as secretary kerry has said, ukraine/russia relations go back, you know, a thousand years or so. they have to be involved in it.

if he doesn't want to be involved in it, doesn't recognize a new government elected by the people coming in may, then i think the solution, not sanctions, which reason going to work anyway, which are going to be just theatrical, but just close him out of the international organizations to which he belongs and to which he's not really contributing much. we're already going to cannes they will g-8 conference in sochi that was going to happen. let's have a g-7 conference someplace else. oecd meetings, you're not a member anymore. don't put direct sanctions but sort of, you know, have briefings for heads of american corporations which are doing business there from some state department, cia people, telling them about the risks of continuing to do business there. already, you know, the ruble is going down, investors are coming out. that i think is the best way to deal with him in a way that will actually have some consequence. >> and, fred, i wish we also had

more time, again, because the secretary's comments we're truncated. thanks for joining me. i'll be back live at 8:00 eastern time tonight, 3:00 a.m. here in kiev for our international viewers. our coverage of the crisis in the ukraine continues right now on "the lead" with jake tapper. jake? as tensions ratchet up in the ukraine, the u.s. and russia are now deploying a tactic they had not yet attempted -- actually talking to each other face to face. jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead -- america's top diplomat, john kerry, meeting with his russian counterpart for the first time face to face since russian boots hit the ground in ukrainian territory. one way or another, this could be a turning point in the international standoff over ukraine. the olympics lead -- stop me if this sounds familiar, the white house condemns the russians after they